DNA Fingerprinting Safeguards Malaysia’s Migrating Green Turtles from Poaching Threats

As dawn breaks on Mataking Island off Sabah’s east coast, a tiny green turtle crawls across the sand, driven by instinct toward the surf before disappearing into the ocean on a journey that could span thousands of kilometers.

Where it goes remains impossible to predict, yet with considerable luck during its epic travels, this turtle may someday return to the same Malaysian beach decades later to lay its own eggs.

The hatchling is one of tens of thousands that emerge from Sabah’s beaches annually, as the species continues a remarkable recovery following decades of conservation efforts aimed at reversing its decline.

Today, Mataking Island—a teardrop-shaped outcrop in the Celebes Sea—serves as a luxury diving destination. At low tide, a sandbar known locally as “Moses Crossing” connects its smaller islets, where visitors encounter green turtles of various sizes grazing on seagrass among the vibrant reefs.

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